This invention relates to television chat systems, and more particularly, to techniques for supporting chat communications in a television environment that may include an interactive television program guide.
A popular aspect of the Internet relates to on-line chat services. A user of such a service may join a chat group to discuss any of a variety of topics. The participants in a chat are linked to each other over the Internet. The participants in a chat may view the comments of other participants in real time as the other participants type in their comments using their computers.
Television programs are often discussed in chat groups. However, there is generally no way in which a user of a traditional chat service may easily view a television program while participating in a chat about that program. A user might locate a television in the same room as the user's personal computer, but such an arrangement would be awkward to view. Moreover, many households locate their televisions in the living room, but are reluctant to locate their computers in the living room.
Although personal computers may be provided with tuner cards that allow television signals to be displayed on the computer monitor, many television viewers would prefer to view television on a traditional television. Televisions generally offer greater viewing areas than computer monitors, so that users need not sit nearly as close to a television screen as they would a computer monitor. Televisions are also typically located in rooms within the home that are more suitable for watching television than where computers are typically located.
A system that attempts to integrate aspects of the Internet with the television viewing experience is available from WebTV Networks, Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif. The WebTV system permits television viewers to access the Internet through a WebTV Plus Receiver connected to their television sets. The WebTV Plus Receiver enables users to surf the World Wide Web on their television by connecting their televisions to the web-based WebTV Network through a standard phone line. The WebTV System permits users to view television program listings and web sites related to television programs that appear in the program listings.
The WebTV system also provides TV Crossover Links that allow users to access web sites that are related to television programs. The WebTV Plus Receiver detects data such as web links (i.e., universal resource locators (URLs)) that is embedded in the video broadcast and notifies users with a TV Crossover Link watermark on their television screens. The TV Crossover Links permit users to link to web sites through the Internet related to the television program that the user is watching. The user can view the web site and the television program simultaneously through the WebPIP picture-in-picture function. If the web site supports chat features, the user might then engage in an on-line chat through the Internet while watching a television program. There is nothing in the WebTV system, however, that ensures that participants in this type of web-based chat are watching the same television programs as the user. The chat may therefore be considerably less focused than it would be if all the chat participants were actively viewing the same television program.
During certain television programs, the MTV television channel displays a scrolling chat message overlay on top of the current MTV television program. Users can link to the chat that is being displayed over the Internet. However, only those users whose television sets are located in the same room as their personal computers may participate in the chat. Moreover, all viewers of the television program must watch the chat, even if they are not interested in participating. The system can only accommodate one chat group, so if more than a few viewers wish to chat, it may be difficult or impossible to follow a particular chat thread of interest.
Interactive television program guides implemented on set-top boxes allow users to view television program listings on their televisions. Such program guides allow users to view television program listings in different display formats and to perform various other functions. For example, a user may instruct the program guide to display a channel-ordered grid of current program listings. The user may also use the program guide to search for programs in a desired programming category such as sports, movies, news, or the like. If desired, the program guide may be used to order pay-per-view programming. Interactive program guides have not, however, been capable of providing chat related features.
Thus, previously known systems have generally not provided television viewers with the opportunity to engage in real-time chat communications with other television viewers without relying solely on the Internet. Previously known systems also have not provided television viewers with the opportunity to engage in chat groups consisting exclusively of other viewers of a television program or channel. Previously known interactive television program guides have not supported chat features.